[Ultrastructural surface restructurings of the fungus Aspergillus terreus growing on cellulose-containing substrate]

The ultrastructural organization of the cell wall surface was studied in the fungus Aspergillus terreus 17P growing on different substrates: glucose, a sodium salt of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) which is a soluble derivative of cellulose, ground straw. Cells grown on soluble substrates (glucose and Na-CMC) had a smooth surface in the logarithmic growth phase. Cells grown on straw, a solid insoluble substrate, released a substance of a polysaccharide nature which formed a thick fibrillar network on the surface. The electron-microscopic cytochemistry showed a relationship between cellulases and exocellular polysaccharides.